The Samurai's Daughter
~ This story is written for a writing contest on this Wiki and dated September 3rd, 2012 ~ One "A Samurai princess obeys her fathers' command and honours her mothers' words." "Yes, Master Toriko," I responded. The Master walked around my father's wooden desk and lifted up a bamboo scroll. "Ojo Kyata, you were told to translate the first five chapters of this. Did you complete your work?" I lifted my chin at Master Toriko. "No." " 'No, Master' ", he snarled at me. "Princess Kyata, do I have an excuse for your insolence?" "No, Master," I replied obstinately, mimicking his voice. Toriko's beefy face flushed red and he brought it close to mine. "Listen, child. Your father may be Shukun ''of Samurai, but that does not mean you can speak and act with such arrogance. The ''Kasai Teikoku ''will fall!" he roared, and in the light, his eyes had a strange glint. "Samurai are not immortal. The ''Teikoku ''will fall...and the ''Hanran ''shall rise." I was seething with anger at being called ''child, but I gasped when Toriko uttered the word Hanran. The Hanran were a resistance force that were silent, deadly, and completely anonymous. They worked to overthrow the Kasai Teikoku and Samurai once and for all. They were known for their signature shuriken, which they were utterly deadly with. All Hanran shuriken ''had a three-pointed symbol on the face. My father, the Shukun, worked so very hard to stop the Hanran...was it possible that Master Toriko was one of the Hanran? Fat irritating Toriko, who constantly berated me for not doing my work. Could be one of my fathers' enemies? "Nonsense," I uttered in response. "The Hanran are weak cowards who hide behind their black face wrappings. They cannot rule Japan. They have not the strength, nor the intellect." I straightened and looked Toriko in the eye. "And they are not as anonymous as they think," I hissed, my fingers inching towards my green katana. Toriko smiled, a dangerous smile, and all of a sudden a thin silver stream was whistling straight for my neck. My samurai training took over, and I dodged just in time. The ''shuriken stuck to the study wall behind my head. "You are trained too well," Toriko growled. "Fortunately, that was just the appetizer! Just think about it, my darling Kyata. The Shukun's daughter, killed! What an uproar that would be for the Kasai Teikoku. What a blow! And only the first, too." Slowly, he pulled another shuriken from who knows where. "There are Hanran assassins posing as servants and friends to important Samurai warriors of the Kasai Teikoku. One signal, and they are all dead. The Samurai are outnumbered; your empire is over. I can kill you know, my dear..." his finger traced the edged of the shuriken, "Or, I can take you for ransom, and threaten your father. What do you say?" I spat at his face. "Or you can drop your weapons, leave and never return," I snarled, pulling my katana out. "You're not the only armed." He laughed. "Very well! I would like to kill you now, but you're a feisty one. Ransom it is," he said. "Give me your katana, my dear." I dropped my katana, and Toriko shook his head at me. "And all your hidden weapons, too." "I have none!" "Don't make me search you, Kyata." "Very well," I growled, and pulled out my short blade and darts, dropping them and kicking them towards the Hanran assassin. "Good! Now...I'm sorry about this, but I have to do this," he moved towards me, lifted a meaty fist and I only knew darkness. Two I woke in a dark small room that smelled horrid. There was a heavy iron door that was locked and bolted in 7 ways from the outside, and no window. I guessed that this was some Hanran holding cell. Investigate every corner of your prison before taking action, remember to keep a clear head. My Samurai trainer, Master Tari, had uttered these words to me what seemed like a long time ago. They floated back to me now. I examined the walls. They were made out of stone and hardened clay. I tried to feel around them as best as I could for flaws, but couldn't find anything. The floor was hard stone. It took me four strides to cross the room and five strides from another side. There was a wooden cot pushed against one corner with a dirty mattress and thin worn blanket, and a barrel of water beside it. The water was probably extremely dirty, but there was no way of telling in this darkness. My night vision wasn't that good, but if I stayed here long enough it would get better and better. Suddenly an overwhelming feeling came over me. How long was I, Samurai Princess Kyata, to stay in this claustrophic room of stone, with no light, no company? If the Hanran were aiming to drive me mad, they were succeeding. I ran to the large, heavy door of iron and banged on it, screaming incoherently. I slumped against the door after a full minute, my fists sore. I was strong, but I could not break through iron. How long would it be before I could run from this forsaken place? I would go insane in a few days... <><><><><><><><><><><><> I was slumped on my cot, asleep, when I awoke suddenly with a jolt. My danger sense was tingling. I straightened in the dark and listened for any sounds: footsteps outside of my cell. Someone was coming. A chance to escape... I heard bolts sliding back and keys turning in locks, and waited for the door to open. It didn't. I cautiously crept towards it, muscles tensed, when it flew open suddenly. I sprang out of the way just in time. "Prisoner Kyata, you are now a captive of the Hanran," a gruff voice uttered. My eyes could make out someone tall with a large build and wide shoulders in the dark. Definitely not Toriko. "That's Princess ''Kyata," I replied coolly. "My father is ''Shukun ''of the Empire, and he commands the Samurai. He ''will ''search for me and he will find me. You cannot hold a Samurai's daughter in your cells of stone, Hanran scum." I scorned him like I had been taught. "Scum, is it?" he laughed. "Then how come you are in the prison and I am here in the halls, laughing at your fate?" "Laughing no longer," I retorted, and with that I sprang at his throat, faster than he thought possible. He slammed the door, but I was already out in the hallway, holding him in a choke grip like I'd been taught. Quickly he reached for his sleeve, which was probably where he kept his ''shuriken, but I got there first, snatching the silver star out of his reach and holding the razor-sharp blade to his exposed neck. Immediately my jailer stiffened. He knew how deadly his own weapons could be. "You will go and call off the other guards," I hissed, "Or you will die. Then you will tell me how to escape, leaving out nothing, and give me your keys, or whatever I need to get out. You will let me escape, or you die. Do you understand?" He nodded twice, very fast, and started to talk. Three I was running. Running, over hills of dried grass and cutting through fields of wild corn and flowers. Running away from my troubles, my father's troubles, my enemies and his enemies. I was leaving them all behind. From what Nasako--that was my jailer's name--had told me, I was not very far from the House of Jisang, one of my father's right-hand men. He was a feared Samurai, reknowned for his speed and stealth. If I could make it there in time... There are Hanran assassins posing as servants and friends to important Samurai warriors of the Kasai Teikoku. One signal, and they are all dead. The Samurai are outnumbered; your empire is over. Toriko had told me this, just...was it yesterday? It felt like days and days ago. If he was not lying, then Jisang was in danger or already dead. My heart thudded in my chest and I repeated to myself over and over again... A Samurai princess does not feel fear. A Samurai princess does not feel fear. A Samurai princess does not feel fear... I pushed open the door to the House of Jinsang and walked into the courtyard, afraid of what I'd find. Four Someone was already there. He was dressed in Samurai warrior armour, with the colours of the Kasai Teikoku: red, dark gold and black. His helmet was on, the gold tassel hanging back. He was holding a short curved blade in one hand and facing... A cold fear ran through me. Was that Jisang? A man was dressed in a black robe was trussed up, and hanging upside down. His ankle was shackled to the famed Tree of Steel that stood in the middle of the courtyard in the House of Jisang. A hood was pulled over his face. If I had my katana and darts, I would have killed the man right now. But he was wearing Samurai warrior armour and I was weaponless. Or maybe not, I thought, as I glanced around. A stone the size of an owl's egg lay at my feet. If I could throw it...if the man didn't move... As I knelt down to pick up the stone, keeping my eyes on the man and my muscles tensed, my boot dragged on the ground. Tccchk. ''Startled, the Samurai whirled around... ...and I took a step back. It was Jisang, and he had a look in his eyes I had never seen before. A fire, an ugly fire, of hatred and disgust and rage, burned in his hard black eyes. "''Ojo Kyata," he bowed, lips curled into a sneer. "What a surprise! Your father has practically the whole of Eto looking for you and Master Toriko." "And why did he not call for you, Samurai Jisang?" I asked politely. "You are his best warrior." "Oh, he called for me," Jisang said. "I told him I would be looking for you. And yet you came to me instead." He gave me a smile that had no warmth. This was not the Jisang I remembered. The Jisang I knew was warm, and often told jokes before a battle. He gave me presents often, ones he gained on his travels and helped me with my studies and training. But this, this Jisang now, was cold as a winter blizzard in the North and had a heart of stone. I frowned in confusion. Something was off here...something was wrong. I turned to the man shackled to the Tree of Steel, then back to Jisang in his Kasai Teikoku armour... There are Hanran assassins posing as servants and friends to important Samurai warriors of the Kasai Teikoku. One signal, and they are all dead. The Samurai are outnumbered; your empire is over. Could it be? Could Jisang, the best Samurai warrior of Time, of the Empire, my father's right-hand man, be one of the Hanran? "Yes!" Jisang crowed at my unasked question. "So long it has taken you fools to figure out. Do you know who this is, here?" he asked, gesturing at the shackled man. "This is your father, the Shukun. You will watch me kill him..." Jisang grinned maliciously. "And then I will kill you. Toriko may have failed, but I will succeed!" "Never," I cried. "The Hanran are cowards, fools. They are weak. Would they rule Japan better than my father? They have no political sense, no knowledge on how to run a country. My father is fair and liked by many. But you--you Hanran would only turn your beloved country into a dictatorship!" I spat at him. "We would," Jisang said softly, a dangerous look in his eyes. "And we would take Korea too, and then the Chinese Empire. Something your fool of a father has never dared to do. He is too afraid." "He is too wise!" I scorned. "He knows it would be a foolish thing to do. You waste your efforts." "Not so. Right now, I am about to kill you," 'Jisang sneered. "Do you have any last words, Samurai's daughter?" In answer, I ran to my father and tugged at the manacles holding him. They loosed, and he fell at the ground, rolled, and got up standing. Jisang growled and raised a drug-tipped dart, throwing it at my father. He caught it midair and threw it back in response. Jisang calmly raised his sword and sliced it in two. My father, the ''Shukun, and his daughter against the best Samurai of time? We did not stand a chance. "Father," I whispered to him, keeping my eyes on Jisang all the while, "Run. Get out of here and get help...I will hold Jisang, or die trying." "Oh, bravery," Jisang scorned. "Run, then, Shukun. See you how fast you can run, and how loyal your Samurai are. The Kasai Teikoku will fall, whether your daughter lives or not." "Oh, no," my father said. "It's the Hanran that will fall. They have already falled, Jisang." He turned and ran out of the door, and I turned and faced the best Samurai of history. Five I knew I could not win. I knew that I would die. I knew this for certain, but I was willing to try, even still. "Come, warrior princess, little girl," Jisang smirked at me. "What have you against me? You will die today, right now." "Yes," I replied. "I welcome death, if it will save my father's life. But that does not mean I won't try to live." With that comment, I held up the shuriken I had taken from Nasako and threw it at Jisang's neck--but that was only a feint. He threw himself on the ground, expecting a shuriken a fly over his body, but instead I sprang and landed atop of him, choking him as I had Nasako. Jisang rolled suddenly, and he was on top of me and I was being crushed against the ground. "Have...a nice...death," Jisang grunted. He slammed my neck down, hard. At the same time, I left my hand and plunged Nasako's shuriken into the back of Jisang's neck, where the armour didn't cover. My spine snapped, but I felt no pain. There was a sharp and sudden pinch in the back of my brain. Everything shuddered, tremored, like an earthquake. I tried to get up and stand, but I couldn't. It was like hitting a wall. I bounced right off and wondered why no one could see me call for help. Yes, I called, but no sound came. Then darkness crashed upon me, like waves of an ocean, and my vision was reduced to a pinpoint. I saw Jisang, lying on the ground, silver shuriken ''at his neck and blood around his body. I tried to turn my head and see more, but that moment my bad vision brightened...and brightened further, until I was blinded by pure whiteness. I found that I could not move, yet I could. I could not see, yet I could. I could not talk or breathe or think...yet I could. Then everything turned red, the purest crimson and scarlet, and green, the purest emeralds and pines, and blue, azure and sapphire and cerulean, all at once, yet seperately at the same time. I could suddenly see as far as I liked, I could see the blazing stars close up and blinding sun which did not blind me. Then my vision blurred together and disappeared altogether, yet I could still see. I found that I could move, yet I was not moving. I walked and found that I could walk up walls through walls, and found that I could run at an imaginably fast pace. I ran, and ran through oceans and seas. All at once my legs could not move and I felt myself collapsing and disappearing, yet I was still ''there. Then I was immobile, paralysed, yet I still could move. I was in a place so indescribable that words could not picture it. It was Everywhere and Nowhere, always Now and yet was Never. It was Here and it was There, and it was All. It was not High or Low but simply There. It had all colours, and more colours, yet no colours. It was so Big that it was Small and yet had no size. It was All and had All and filled me with glory. I could See, See like never before. I could Speak and Think and Move and Breathe, yet I could not. And--I knew. Oh, how I knew. I knew things so much that I forgot them, yet I could not forget. There was no memory ''for me. No ''knowledge. Just Know. I Knew things I did not want to Know. I even Knew how I came to Know all this, yet I did not Know. Everything made sense and was confusing at the same time. I Knew whether the Hanran would overcome Kasai Teikoku or not. I Knew what would become of my father. I Knew what would become of the world. I Knew who I was, who I am, who I will be. I was the Samurai's Daughter. I was Dead, yet I would Live. Appendix Every story deserves a good Appendix. Or should I say ever good story deserves an Appendix? I have no idea; it's not only my story, it's also yours. Either way, this story really needed an Appendix, so here it is. Translations 'Ojo: '''Japanese for Princess '''Hanran: '''Japenese meaning Rebellion '''Kasai Teikoku: '''Japanese meaning Fire Empire '''Shukun: '''Japanese for Lord '''Shuriken: '''Japanese word for what we call Ninja Stars History The Kasai Teikoku means Fire Empire. It's led by the Samurai Shukun, who is Ojo Kyata's father. It ruled Japan for some time. The Hanran are rebels who do not like the Fire Empire. They could be the predecessors of ninjas, or another word for ninjas. Since this story is completely fictional, the timing and chronology can be a little off. Any coincidental collisions with real events in history are completely accidental. The ''Eto Jisang talks about in Chapter Four refers to Tokyo. It was called Eto previously, and since this is fictional, like I said, the chronological order of historical events is probably off. Naming I named the Samurai rule Kasai Teikoku or Fire Empire, because their colours are red and dark gold. In fact I had selected their colours first, and then the name. I also felt like the name Fire Empire suited Samurai warriors very much. The Hanran are pretty much self explanatory. Hanran means rebellion or revolt, and the Hanran are rebels. Character names such as Toriko, Kyata and Jisang don't have any purposeful meaning. A note on Chapter Five The last bit on Chapter Five describes Ojo Kyata dying. The "Everywhere and Nowhere" is Heaven. If you've read the book The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, I based it on Alex Malarkey's decription on Heaven. Please no religious arguments on this. Alex went to Heaven, stayed with Him and came back. I'm proudly Christian so I believe in this. Category:Writing Contest Entries Category:Stories